News Digest
Last forces leave Somalia
iviuvj/\L»iMiu, Somalia—u.i>.
Marines backed out of Somalia and
into the sea Thursday with the rem
nants of a multinational force that
fed starving thousands but failed to
conquer chaos.
liie Marines escorted the final
U.N. forces from Mogadishu’s
shores, a quiet end to a two-year
intervention that began with a tele
vised invasion and ultimately cost
$2 billion and the lives of more than
100 peacekeepers.
The last peacekeepers were hur
ried to warships offshore. The move
of 1,500 American and 350 Italian
marines from a small beach cove
back to their ships ended at 12:59
a.m. today.
“U.S. and Italian Marines com
pleted the extraction of United
Nations forces and their equip
ment from Somalia,” Defense
Secretary William Perry said in a
statement Thursday in Washing
ton. “I want to thank the U.S.
forces and their commanders for a
job well done.”
A Pentagon official said the with
drawal had been completed ahead
of schedule, and that no American
ships or aircraft would remain in
the area. “Our plan is to withdraw
our force as soon as possible,” the
official said.
U.S. Marines landed Monday to
protect the evacuation of2,400 Pa
kistani and Bangladeshi peacekeep
ers, the last in a multinational force
that once totaled 3 8,000 troops from
zi countries.
The withdrawal was delayed sev
eral hours when a ferry chartered to
pick up the Pakistanis was rammed
by a tugboat, damaging its cargo
doors. As the doors were being re
paired, port officials found their
only gangplank was missing, ap
parently looted.
“Just give us ropes and we’ll
climb aboard,” one Pakistani of
ficer said. A makeshift gangplank
was jury-rigged from shipping con
"The U.N. will not
abandon Somalia
u
BOUTROS BOUTROS
GHALI
U.N. Secretary-General
tainers, and the ship left after a
three-hour delay.
U.S. Marines shot at least two
Somali militiamen who fired at
Americans from a pickup truck
Thursday.
The Horn of Africa nation has
lacked a government since former
dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was
overthrown in 1991. In the years
since, despite numerous mediation
attempts by the United Nations,
Somali factions have been unable
to bridge their differences and unite
under one government.
Despite its failure to solve
Somalia’s political problems, the
multinational intervention did end
the widespread starvation that, to
gether with war and disease, killed
350,000 Somalis in 1992.
But it came with a cost. More
than 100 peacekeepers and 42
American troops died, and the op
eration drained $1.66 billion from
U.N. coffers. It ended without re
moving Somalia’s main obstacle to
peace — its intransigent warlords.
Tops among them was Mohamed
Farrah Aidid, who once carried a
$25,000 U.N. price on his head and
subverted peacekeepers’ efforts
more than any other Somali.
After Pakistani peacekeepers
withdrew from the airport Wednes
day, hundreds of looters had barely
an hour before Aidid’smilitia roared
in on stripped trucks mounted with
weapons to claim the facility as
their prize.
U.N. Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali said international
efforts to bring peace and humani
tarian aid to Somalia will continue.
“The U.N. will not abandon Soma
lia,” he said.
He added, though, that the feasi
bility of aid would depend on the
cooperation of Somali leaders.
States could decide not to pay
for abortions for rape victims
wAamrsuiuiN — states could
opt out of providing Medicaid-funded
abortions for victims of rape and in
cest under a measure approved Thurs
day by the House Appropriations Com
mittee.
As part of a GOP spending cuts
package, the panel voted 33-21 —
largely along Republican-Democratic
party lines -— to reverse the Clinton
administration’s policy of mandating
that states use Medicaid funds to buy
abortions for poor women who have
been victims of violence.
“All over this country, persons who
are involved in state funding have
been petitioning the Clinton adminis
tration, urging it to correct this misin
terpretation,” Rep. Ernest J. Istook,
R-Okla., said of the proposal.
istooK saia the administration had
misread a 1993 law adding rape and
incest to saving the life of the mother
as exceptions to an 18-year-old prohi
bition on the use of federal funds to
pay for abortions.
But opponents called Istook’s mea
sure a major rollback of abortion rights
aimedatthosewho are most vulnerable.
“States rights are just a smokescreen
to hide the fact that this amendment
would deny poor women who are vic
tims of rape and incest the right to an
abortion,” said Rep. Nita Lowey, D
N.Y.
The administration last year noti
fied states they must begin providing
abortions to poor women in cases of
rape and incest and warned they could
lose some Medicaid funding if they
British trader’s luck
ends in Frankfurt
FRANKFURT, Germany — The
British trader whose gambles led to
the collapse of Britain’s oldest invest
ment bank was several steps ahead of
a Singapore arrest warrant and almost
home when police caught up with him
Thursday.
Nick Leeson was escorted off a
flight from Malaysia and detained by
German police while authorities
waited for an extradition request and
arrest warrant accusing him of mis
handling money and other charges.
Leeson repeatedly told police he
wanted to return to Britain, where his
employer, Baring Brothers & Co., was
trying to figure out how one man could
lose an estimated $1 billion and bring
down the 232-year-old bank in a mat
ter of weeks.
In its first comment on the case,
Singapore’s fraud squad said Thurs
day it was investigating a complaint
by Baring Futures that the 28-year-old
Leeson “committed offenses of forg
ery .”
It said the Baring complaint was
made to police Monday, four days
after Leeson and his wife, Lisa Simms,
had already fled their luxury condo
minium in Singapore, leaving news
papers at the door and laundry drying
on the balcony.
The couple drove across the border
into Malaysia, where they spent the
night, then went on to a ritzy resort in
Kota Kinabula, about 900 miles away
on the island of Borneo.
Malaysia’s Daily Express newspa
per said Leeson went to Royal Brunei
Airlines office in Kota Kinabalu on
Tuesday, asked for the next available
flight to Europe and paid $ 1,500 cash
for the tickets.
The couple’s newly hired lawyer,
Eberhard Kempf, said Leeson would
probably spend the night in a Frank
furt prison before he was taken before
a judge Friday where he was expected
to fight on extradition request.
Ms. Simms was released and flew
to Britain.
did not. At the time, 30 states were not
using Medicaid funds to pay for abor
tions for victims of rape or incest.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich
threw his support behind Istook’s
measure on Wednesday after initially
telling reporters the rape and incest
exceptions were “a legitimate condi
tion in the Medicaid program.”
He later issued a statement saying
he supported the amendment.
He complained that the Clinton
administration’s interpretation of the
1993 legislation to require states to
provide taxpayer-funded abortions had
overruled existing state law.
Democrats said Republicans were
trying to repay conservative, anti-abor
tion forces who helped fuel their vic
tory at the polls in November.
Baring Brothers
trader Nicholas
Leeson was taken
into custody
Thursday. He
faces extradition
to Singapore,
where he
allegedly brought
down the revered
British bank.
Nicholas
Leeson
Rrankfart*
The Leesons were taken p
into custody en route to |
London. 1
| Kuala Lumpur
v Checked into a hotel
and left 12 hours later. §
Singapore U I
Leeson and his
wife fled Feb. 23.
Kota Kinabalu^r
The Leesons spent
five days in the
resort city then
booked a flight to
Frankfurt
NefcJraskan
Editor Jeff Zeleny
472-1766
Managing Editor Jeff Robb
Assoc. News Editors DeDra Janssen
„ Doug Kouma
Opinion Page Editor Matt Woody
Wire Editor Jennifer Miratsky
Copy Desk Editor Kristin Armstrong
Sports Editor Tim Pearson
Arts & Entertainment
Editor Rainbow Rowell
Photo Director Jeff Haller
Night News Editors Ronda Vlasln
Jamie Karl
Damon Lee
Pat Hambrecht
Art Director KaiWilken
General Manager DanShattil
Production Manager Katherine Policky
FAX NUMBER 472-1761
Th® Daily NebraskanfUSPS 144-080) is
pubhshed by the UNL Publications Board,
Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St., Lincoln, NE
68588-0448, Monday through Friday during
the academic year; weekly during summer
sessions.
Readers are encouraged to submit story
ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan
by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m.-Mondaythrough Friday. Thepublicalso
has access to the Publications Board. For
information, contact Tim Hedegaard, 436
9258.
Subscription price is $50 for one year.
Postmaster: Send address changes to the
Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400
R St.,Lincoln, NE68588-0448. Second-class
postage paid at Lincoln, NE.
ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT
1995 DAILY NEBRASKAN
UNICEF investigating
possible corruptions
UNITED NATIONS—The U.N.
Children’sFundisinvestigatingclaims
that some members of its Kenya staff
fimneled money to phony aid groups
and falsified medical and charge re
ceipts.
UNICEF has suspended 10 staff
members while it investigates, includ
ing the current and past heads of its
Kenya office, said Karin Sham Poo,
the deputy executive director of the
New York-based organization.
“In the 10 years that I have been
here, this is the largest case of indi
viduals involved in improprieties or
mismanagement,” Sham Poo said
Thursday.
She said it was unclear how much
money may have been involved.
“I do not think we are talking about
millions,” she said.
Seven members of UNICEF’s
Kenya office were suspended with
pay after a November audit uncov
ered irregularities, Sham Poo said.
The seven were not accused of any
wrongdoing, but UNICEF sent its top
auditor, Johanna Strieck, to Nairobi
to begin a wider investigation in Janu
ary.
As a result, three additional staff
members and one of the staffers pun
ished in November were suspended
without pay.
Sham Poo said some of the four
were accused of falsifying expense
and medical claims.
Strieck’s investigation is expected
to be completed later this month.
Auditors were investigating
charges that UNICEF was “allocating
funds to activities that were not ap
proved,” that staff members were im
properly hired and that money was
given to fake aid groups, Sham Poo
said.
Each UNICEF country office is
audited every three years.
UNICEF, with a $ 1 billion annual
budget, feeds and provides water and
medical aid to children in 140 coun
tries. The agency helps immunize mil
lions of children each year.
The largest contributor is the United
States, which gave $135 million last
year. Private donations from Ameri
cans amounted to another $21 mil
lion.
News... _
in a Minute
O.J.’s alibi testimony questionable
LOS ANGELES — The witness who was supposed to give O.J.
Simpson an alibi testified Thursday she can’t be sure what time she saw
his Bronco outside his home. She acknowledged that a defense investi
gator tried to feed her times beneficial to Simpson.
In grueling cross-examination, Rosa Lopez was caught in a contra
diction over whether she ever filed for unemployment and acknowl
edged she testified last week that she made airline reservations when she
hadn’t. Lopez, a former housekeeper for a Simpson neighbor, labored
through a line of questioning in which she couldn’t recall the time, date
or even the season in which she spoke to defense investigator William
Pavelic. She said she only knew it was in 1994. “Do you have a hard
time remembering time?” asked Deputy District Attorney Chris Darden.
“If I don’t have it written down, how can I remember?” the Spanish
speaking Lopez replied through an interpreter.
Grilled on the details ofher meeting with Pavelic in Simpson’s office,
Lopez said she didn ’t give a specific time that she saw Simpson’s Bronco
parked outside his Brentwood estate the night Simpson’sex-wife and her
friend were murdered.
The time Lopez said she saw the Bronco is critical since prosecutors
have alleged the murders were committed about 10:15p.m. and Simpson
used the Bronco to drive to the murder scene two miles away.
